1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to golf bags, and more particularly to golf bags with extendable and retractable support stands and fixed and removable seating surfaces.
2. Description of Related Art
Golf is one of the most widely played sports activities in the United States. Not only is this activity already widespread, but the number of golfers continue to grow due to popularity of the sport caused by high stake televised games.
The sport of golf is typically played with a set of golf clubs which are commonly placed in a golf bag. When a golf bag is carried by a golfer, it is desirable to include a stand which supports the golf bag in its upright position to allow easy access to the golf clubs. Conventionally, this function has been accommodated by providing legs which are extendable when the golf bag is placed on the ground and retractable when the golf bag is carried.
Various methods have been used to move the legs between their retracted and extended positions. One method is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,377 to Suk (the xe2x80x9cSuk referencexe2x80x9d) incorporated herein by reference. In the Suk reference, before a pair of legs can be used to support a golf bag, a slide member must be moved in a descending position along a two parallel groove track formed in a slide bracket. When the extending feature of the legs are not needed, the user must then manually move the slide member in an upward position along the track. The manual operation of the sliding member may be cumbersome to some golfers.
Another conventional golf bag stand is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,483 to Maeng (the xe2x80x9cMaeng referencexe2x80x9d) the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. In the Maeng reference, the pair of legs extend away from the golf bag to provide support when the golf bag is forcefully tilted with respect to the ground. In such a position, the contact surface area of the golf bag with the ground is minimal, which comprises the tips of two legs and an edge of the golf bag, and thus possibly causing the golf bag to tip over when it is placed on a slope or irregular surface. In addition, a horizontal drive member pivotally mounted to a base of the golf bag in the Maeng reference must be sufficiently rigid and large to withstand the tilting force, because the drive member must provide all of the actuating force to the U-shaped actuating member.
Application 09/218,993 filed Dec. 22, 1998, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, includes an actuator disposed inside of the body of the golf bag that actuates the leg movements.
Since golf entails periods of waiting and substantial amount of walking during the game, it is also desirable to provide a seat on the golf bag of sufficient strength to support the golfer. The seat should take up a minimal amount of space or be collapsible or removable so as not to impede the golfer in carrying the bag. Where the golfer uses a cart, it is desirable to remove the seat altogether from the bag.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a self-supporting golf bag having a seat of sufficient strength and dimension to support a golfer when seated thereon that obviates one or more problems of the prior art.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a golf bag having a collapsible seat that may be collapsed close to the bag for easy transport.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a removable seat so that golfers using a cart, etc. may use the bag without the seat attached.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
According to a first embodiment of the present invention, a golf bag has a body having a front surface, a back surface, a lower region and a bottom end. The body defines a longitudinal axis. The golf bag further has at least one leg and preferably two legs pivotally connected to the back surface of the body that are able to pivot between a retracted position where the legs are disposed substantially longitudinally along the back surface of the body and an extended position where lower ends of the legs are spaced apart from the body. The golf bag further includes a seat member coupled to the lower region of the front surface of the bag body. The seat member has a seating surface associated with the front surface of the lower region of the bag. This seating surface lies substantially parallel to a supporting surface on which the bag and the lower ends of the legs rest when the bag is in an extended position. The seat also includes a rigid support member that has a top end, a bottom end and a back surface. The top end is perpendicularly coupled to the seating surface and the bottom end rests on the supporting surface when the bag is in an extended position. The back surface is coupled to the bag body.
According to a second embodiment of the present invention, the seat member is removably coupled to the lower region of the bag, the bag having its own base.
According to a third embodiment of the present invention, a golf bag has a body with a front surface, a back surface, a lower region and a bottom end. The body defines a longitudinal axis. The bag further includes two legs pivotally connected to the back surface of the body as described previously herein. The bag also includes a seat member coupled to the lower region of the front surface of the bag body. The seat member has an extendable seating surface associated with the front surface of the lower region of the bag, which lies substantially parallel to a supporting surface on which the bag and the lower ends of the legs rest when the bag is in an extended position. The seating surface lies substantially collapsed against the front surface of the lower region of the bag when the seating surface is in a collapsed (carrying) position. The seating surface has a front end and a back end, the back end associated with the front surface of the lower region of the bag. The seat member also includes a rigid support member that has a crossbar coupled to the front end of the seating surface. The crossbar is connected to each end of a first sidebar and a second sidebar. The two bottom ends of the side bars are pivotally coupled to the bottom end of the front surface of bag body.
These and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood by studying the detailed description in conjunction with the drawings and the accompanying claims.